The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 231
When Ash set down the documents and motioned for him to continue, Hozi resumed speaking.
“You said you wouldn’t punish the repairman, which means you have no intention of taking Count Azelot to trial.”
That was true.
To put Count Azelot on trial, they would need the repairman as a witness.
But if they did that, the repairman would almost certainly face retaliation later.
Count Azelot had ordered the kidnapping in the first place to achieve his goal, so there was no way he would let a commoner who testified against him live peacefully afterward.
‘A lawsuit that cannot deliver meaningful damage will only create more work…’
For the repairman and for Ash, a lawsuit was not a good option.
“And what exactly do you plan to use those men for?”
“They are technically high-grade personnel. It feels wasteful to just dispose of them.”
Ash rubbed his jaw and let out a quiet sigh.
If there would be no lawsuit, then those men had no value alive.
If he let them go, they would simply return as assets of House Azelot.
“What do you intend to do with them?”
“After looking into them lightly, they seem to have some weaknesses of their own.”
“Weaknesses?”
The investigation results showed the three men imprisoned in the underground cells were far from clean.
Even while serving under House Azelot, they had been secretly engaging in petty corruption behind the Count’s back for personal gain.
If those facts ever came to light, would Count Azelot really leave them alive?
Considering the time and money required to train a fully-fledged knight, it would still be unthinkable for him to spare traitors.
“If we threaten them, they’ll have no choice but to follow your orders in order to survive. So Your Grace should use them as spies.”
Ash let out a short laugh.
“Then instead of sending a letter, we should train them first and send them back to House Azelot, just as you said.”
Training, of course, meant they would undergo interrogation and torture.
And like hunting dogs that are eaten once the hunt is over, they would never meet a beautiful end.
“Yes, if Your Grace permits it, I will proceed.”
“You intend to handle it personally?”
“Yes. It is important.”
Hozi handled so many tasks it made one doubt whether he ever rested at all.
Especially lately. He had been investigating the drug, probing the orphanages affiliated with the Delphinium Foundation, monitoring the Minister of Finance and House Nord, and keeping an eye on Count Azelot.
And on top of all that, he wanted to take on the ‘education’ of House Azelot’s knights?
Ash studied Hozi’s expression in silence, as if reading his intentions, then nodded.
Although it was an important matter, there were plenty of others who could threaten and coerce the knights.
He could have delegated it to Bayern’s informants or knights who were used to these tasks.
Even so, he allowed it because he understood that this incident had touched one of Hozi’s old traumas.
“Go ahead.”
Hozi accepted Ash’s words with a smile and left the room.
Click.
Once the door closed, the faint smile lingering on Hozi’s lips vanished completely.
The lines of the reports he had received from subordinates resurfaced in his mind.
Kidnapping. Confinement. Assault.
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he exhaled a weary breath.
It reminded him of the incident that had shaped the person he had become, someone who chased extreme thrills because he could no longer endure a dull life.
He stood still for a long moment, then moved again with a practiced smile, as if he had never remembered anything at all.
* * *
Nina closed Sophia’s letter and let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness.’
Breaking the engagement did not solve everything.
Proper compensation for damages also had to be secured.
Judging from the behavior of Viscountess Beverley that day, Nina had doubted the compensation would be paid properly, but fortunately it seemed everything had been settled.
Sophia had not mentioned exact numbers, but the fact they reached an agreement meant the amount was not small.
‘Well, what could they have done if they refused?’
If they had refused, would Count Bernard and his wife have stayed still?
They would have filed a lawsuit.
But if it went to trial, the fact that George had taken drug would be exposed in court.
And since Viscountess Beverley had accepted the annulment quietly to avoid that exposure, she surely would not have wanted the matter dragged into legal proceedings.
